Sunday, June 08, 2014

The Pentecost Troparion: "Blessed art Thou, O Christ our God"

This beautiful chant is Georgian:  "K'urtkheul khar shen":


 
From the YouTube page:
Troparion of Pentecost, sung by the choir of the convent of Sameba-Jikheti. It can be found on their CD "Chant melodies."

"Blessed art Thou, O Christ our God, Who hast revealed the fishermen as most wise by sending down upon them the Holy Spirit - through them Thou didst draw the world into Thy net. O Lover of Man, glory to Thee!"

Here's a melody used by the Greek Orthodox Church for the same chant, sung in English:




And this is the same Troparion, sung to "Tone 8 / Russian Imperial Court Chant":




[EDIT:  Georges, in comments, points out that:
The correspondant of the troparion apolytikion in the West is the antiphone which is to be sung with Magnificat or Benedictus.

Many Byzantine troparies and Western major antiphones have the same pattern.

The stichera correspond to the Western antiphone of the psalms.

Thanks very much, Georges.]


More about troparia here:
A troparion (Greek τροπάριον, plural: troparia, τροπάρια; Church Slavonic: тропа́рь, tropar′) in Byzantine music and in the religious music of Eastern Orthodox Christianity is a short hymn of one stanza, or one of a series of stanzas. The word probably derives from a diminutive of the Greek tropos (“something repeated”, “manner”, “fashion”). The early troparion was also called sticheron[citation needed] (probably from stichos, “verse”); but currently the two terms are treated separately, with different melodies used for each.

Most troparia are chanted to one of the Eight Tones used in the Eastern liturgical tradition, though some have unique melodies to which they are chanted. Sometimes, troparia will be interpolated between verses of a psalm or other scripture.

In casual, unqualified use, troparion usually refers to the apolytikion (Greek: ἀπολυτίκιον), or "dismissal hymn", a troparion chanted near the end of Vespers which establishes the overall theme for the liturgical day, for which it is called the "troparion of the day". It is chanted again at the beginning of Matins, read at each of the Little Hours, and chanted at the Divine Liturgy following the Little Entrance.

Friday, June 06, 2014

Chant for Pentecost from Fontgombault Abbey

Here is the chant from the Vigil of Pentecost, the Mass of the Day of Pentecost, and Pentecost Vespers.  Very pretty, all a capella; as far as I can tell, this comes from a 1993 CD, which may be a re-release of an earlier recording.




Here's the music list:
Vigile de la Pentecôte

1. Antienne D'Introit  DUM SANCTIFICATUS
2  KYRIE XII
3. GLORIA XII
4. Antienne d'Offertoire EMITTE
5. SANCTUS XII
6. AGNUS DEI XII
7. Antienne de Communion ULTIMO


Messe du Jour de la Pentecôte

8. Antienne d'Introit SPIRITUS DOMINI
9.  KYRIE III A
10. GLORIA III B
11. ALLELUIA EMITTE
12. ALLELUIA VENI SANCTE SPIRITUS
13. Sequence VENI SANCTE SPIRITUS
14. Antienne d"Offertoire CONFIRMA HOC
15. SACTUS III
16. AGNUS DEI III
17. Antienne de Communion FACTUS EST

Vepres de la Pentecôte

18.  Verset DEUS IN ADJUTORUM
19.  Antienne DUM COMPLERENTUR et Psaume 109
20.  Antienne SPIRITUS DOMINI et Psaume 110
21.  Antienne REPLETI SUNT et Psaume 111
22   Antienne LOQUEBANTUR et Psaume 112
23.  Capitule CUM COMPLERENTUR
24.  Repons bref SPIRITUS PARACLITUS
25.  Hymne VENI CREATOR
26.  Verset LOQUENBANTUR
27.  Antienne HODIE et Cantique MAGNIFICAT
28.  KYRIE PATER, Oraison DEUS QUI HODIERNA
29.  Verset BENEDICAMUS DOMINO

This blurb is from the YouTube page:
Voici une très belle interprétation du chant grégorien (sans accompagnement de l'orgue) et dans la pure tradition de l'abbaye de Solesmes dont Fontgombault est une abbaye-fille de Saint-Pierre de Solesmes. Le ton est parfait et la prononciation latine l'est aussi. Il est à noter comme je l'ai déjà fait dans l'office de Pâques et de l'Assomption que le ton est plus haut que les régions nordiques, belges et espagnoles. Santo Domingo de Silos chante plus bas dû par l'influence du mozarabe.

Cet office de Pentecôte est admirable car le chant du propre et XII et de la III sont difficile à interpréter et d'ailleurs peu connus.

A.G. O.S.B.

Here's a translation:
Here's a beautiful interpretation of Gregorian Chant (without organ accompaniment) and in the pure tradition of the Abbey of Solesmes;  Fontgombault is a daughter-abbey of Saint-Pierre de Solesmes.  The tone is perfect and the Latin pronunciation is, too.  As I've previously noted on the videos of the Offices of Easter and the Assumption, the tone is higher than the Nordic, Belgian and Spanish regions.  Santo Domingo de Silos sings lower because of the Mozarabic influence.

The Pentecost Office is admirable because the chant propers of (Masses) XII and III are difficult to sing and are less well-known.

Wednesday, June 04, 2014

The Pantheon on Pentecost

Who'll be doing this at their parish this year? It's a splendid practice, I think; listen for Veni Creator Spiritus in the background.



From the YouTube page:
Rome, May 23, 2010: Solemnity of Pentecost at the Pantheon; rose petals are dropped from the open oculus at twelve o'clock noon in commemoration of the descent of the Holy Ghost on the day of Pentecost, the birthday of the Church. As the "dew" falls, the choir chants the sequence Veni Sancte Spiritus!

About the Pantheon:
The Pantheon (/ˈpænθiən/ or US /ˈpænθiɒn/;[1] Latin: Pantheon[nb 1]) is a building in Rome, Italy, commissioned by Marcus Agrippa during the reign of Augustus (27 BC - 14 AD) as a temple to all the gods of ancient Rome, and rebuilt by the emperor Hadrian about 126 AD.[2]

The building is circular with a portico of large granite Corinthian columns (eight in the first rank and two groups of four behind) under a pediment. A rectangular vestibule links the porch to the rotunda, which is under a coffered concrete dome, with a central opening (oculus) to the sky. Almost two thousand years after it was built, the Pantheon's dome is still the world's largest unreinforced concrete dome.[3] The height to the oculus and the diameter of the interior circle are the same, 43.3 metres (142 ft).[4]

It is one of the best-preserved of all Ancient Roman buildings. It has been in continuous use throughout its history, and since the 7th century, the Pantheon has been used as a Roman Catholic church dedicated to "St. Mary and the Martyrs" but informally known as "Santa Maria Rotonda."

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